A second-hand luxury handbag

Buying second-hand luxury goods is a great way to treat yourself exclusive goods with a significant discount. There are more than enough places to buy such goods these days. But how not to get scammed and spend money on a worthless fake?

What can happen

If you buy from an unverified source, anything can really happen. Private sellers on various sales portals may not send you the goods at all after payment, or they may send you goods different from the ones advertised. Even cash on delivery won’t save you in that case. You can easily pay CZK 30,000 for a log of wood. You will certainly come across many honest sellers, but if you really don’t want to be scammed, the only option is purchase goods only in person and always inspect it carefully.

Unfortunately, often even the seller himself has no idea what he is offering and therefore you can only rely on reputable shops, of which there are unfortunately not many.

Where to buy the original

Unless you’re an expert in authenticating, unfortunately, there’s no choice but to trust. Trust in that case only
verified source. Learning to tell the difference between successful fakes and originals takes time at best years of experience and thousands of pieces of verified goods. Although many sellers guarantee the originality of the goods, unfortunately these are only empty promises. If they make conclusions based only on the document, the packaging, the original owner or their lack of experience, this is no guarantee for the buyer.

How to verify the originality of the goods

If you have decided to buy the goods from a source other than a verified source, carefully inspect the goods before the purchase itself. You can use help goods authentication expertor try to prepare yourself.

It is best to thoroughly inspect the advertised goods directly in the official brand boutique. If this is not possible, look for the goods in as many trusted Internet sources as possible and do your research
study photos for details. Focus on the metal components and the embossing of the logo in them, as well as on all the markings – internal labels with the brand logo. Study the manufacturer’s data codes. Such a thing will take many hours of time, but it will save you disappointment and wasted money.

Louis Vuitton zipper pull detail

You can learn more about verification of originality in the ebook The secret of verifying the originality of luxury goodswhich explains in detail the differences between an original and a fake and also offers specific useful advice when verifying the goods of several luxury brands.

Which may or may not be suspicious

In many articles it is written that you can recognize an original item by having a date code, a certificate, it must not be wrapped in plastic or be too cheap. However, none of the above may apply.

Only some brands endow their goods with a date code, and it may cease to be legible or visible after a while.

Dior date code

Certificates of originality are found in an even smaller number of luxury brands. In addition, the certificate is often nothing more than a plastic card with the stamp of the store and the date of purchase. Even the original purchase receipt is not a guarantee of the originality of the goodsas it may not belong to him at all. Also, pay attention to foreign documents, which you probably won’t even check if they are authentic.

If you shop at a designer boutique, you will usually receive the goods beautifully packaged in a paper box lined with tissue paper, or at least in a nice fitting dust bag. Some parts of the handbag can be wrapped in tissue paper, and in some cases the hardware is also protected by a thin layer of foil from scratches. When buying in an outlet, the original goods can be packed in plastic packaging or in much cheaper packaging, it depends on the specific manufacturer.

Goods in outlets can also be up to 70% cheaper (in some cases even more) than it was originally. As for individuals selling their used goods, the choice of selling price is entirely up to them, and even a 90% discount does not necessarily mean that the goods in question are not original. Originality cannot really be judged by the price.

Photo source: Pre-loved.cz